Episode 429: Tag! We're It! Part 1
On the next day after the Hearthome Pokémon Contest has concluded, Nando has left Hearthome City in search for another Gym to challenge and another Contest to partake in as Fantina temporarily closed her Gym and set off to judge other Contests. Sora was preparing to depart for Veilstone City for his fourth Sinnoh Gym Badge, but was approached by Zoey before he could make the last preparations to do so. She did the same thing with Lucas, so she brought Sora and Lucas a line for some kind of tournament.
"Why did you bring us here, Zoey?" Sora asked.
"Well, I did some thinking, and I decided to have Dawn of entering the Tag Battle Tournament being held here in Hearthome City," Zoey said.
"You think it'll help raise her battling spirits, huh?" Lucas asked.
"I do. And I figured I'd run it by you since you two seem to be the right Trainers for the task," Zoey said.
"Say no more, Zoey. We'll help Dawn out anyway we can," Lucas said.
"I'm with Lucas on this one. You can count on us," Sora said.
"That's what I thought you would do," Zoey said with a smile.
"Thanks, you guys. I'll see ya around," Zoey said.
"You too, Zoey," Lucas said.
"Take care," Sora said.
Sora and Lucas got in line for the Tag Battle Tournament. After signing in, Lucas hands Dawn a card with the the number 28 on the front.
"Huh? What's this?" Dawn asked.
"Your entry card for the Tag Battle Tournament," Lucas said.
"Why me?" Dawn asked.
"It was Zoey's idea. She thought it would help you out," Sora said.
"Pika, Pika," Pikachu said.
"But she didn't say anything to me about it," Dawn said.
"Come on. You could use the boost in your confidence, so why not? You could at least do it for Zoey, won't you?" Lucas asked.
"Pip, Piplup," Piplup said. Dawn looked at her partner and she saw she didn't need any further convincing.
"Okay, you talked me into it. I'm in," Dawn said.
"Glad you're on board, Dawn," Lucas said.
Not too long after that, Sora filled in the news to the others about the Tag Battle Tournament.
"So, we're sticking in Hearthome City a tad longer, huh?" Brendan asked.
"Yeah, it seems that way," Sora said.
"I was hoping we would. I plan on doing some more shopping. I was planning on buying some presents for our families, and for Max, too. Not only that, but there are some restaurants to eat out," May said.
"Sounds like you, May," Chase joked.
"Well, we're all going to root for you and Lucas," Ash said.
"Thanks," Sora said.
Kairi dressed in a cheerleader outfit to root for her boyfriend. The mayor of Hearthome City makes the announcement to the tournament.
"It's battle time!" The mayor announced and crowd cheers on. "Get ready for some action!" The crowd cheers some more.
"It's just like the Pokémon League," Ethan said.
"I can't wait till it gets started!" Roxas said.
"Pika, Pika!" Xipak said.
"This is so exciting!" Xion said.
"Eevee," Celeste said.
"Welcome Tag Battle Trainers to Hearthome City! I know you're going to have a good tine time! And I should know, I'm the emcee! The name's Enta, the Hearthome City Mayor!" Enta announced as every applauds.
"He sure loves to hear himself go at it," Takato said.
"Char," Guil said.
"I was thinking the same thing," Henry said.
"As you may know, our warm and kind Hearthome City is known as the 'City Where Hearts Meet!' And with this Tag Battle those hearts include Pokémon's and people's alike! Pokémon to Pokémon and person to person! Yes, bringing them all together is what this Tag Battle is all about! And do, for the next three days, this stadium will burn with that spirit!" Enta announced as the crowd cheers. "Simple, isn't it? So now, I want you to make sure you have your registration cards." Sora has his and he's number 31 as someone is number number 14. Lucas is number 15. "On this screen, you'll find everyone's card numbers listed! Look for your number and the number right next to yours! This will be your tag team partner throughout the competition! Alright then, time to see who's who!" He presses a red button and the numbers show up. Sora searches for his partner, seeing who has the number 14. Lucas is tagged up with a Trainer with number 5 as Dawn is tagged with someone who has number 9.
"I'm in the A Block!" Dawn said.
"I'm in the D Block," Sora said.
"I'm in the H Block!" Lucas said.
"NOW! Using the numbers as a guide, find your tag team partner!" Enta instructed. Sora looked around for his partner and saw the Trainer with the number 14, which happens to be Yugi. Sora was smiling.
"Yugi! I don't believe it!" Sora said.
"Hi, Sora. I guess it's the luck of the draw," Yugi said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
Meanwhile, Dawn is looking for her tournament partner.
"I'm looking for number 9!" Dawn called out.
"Well, how are you, number 28?" A new voice asked.
"I'm fine!" Dawn replied. She saw it was a young man with dark green med-length hair and glasses. He wore a light green t-shirt with a darker green vest, blue jeans, gray sandals, and a dark green choker and bracelet. His appearance is similar to Max's. Something about him creeped her out.
"That's good. Conway is the name. A pleasure," Conway greeted. With him is a Slowking. Slowking shares his traits.
"Oh. It's nice to meet you. I'm Dawn," Dawn introduced herself.
"Dawn, eh?" Conway asked as he adjusted his glasses. He chuckles. "My my. There's a cute name. The perfect person to be our partner."
"Slowking, Slowking agreed.
Dawn was creeped out more so. She hoped Lucas has hooked up with someone other than she did.
"It appears that my Slowking has taken quite a liking to you," Conway said.
"Slowking," Slowking added.
"Well, isn't that special," Dawn said, getting nervous. She took out her Rotom Phone and scanned it.
Slowking, the Royal Pokémon
An evolved form of Slowpoke
Type: Water/Psychic
It's called "the sage of the sea." It engages in battles of wits with other intelligent Pokémon such as Oranguru, but the result is usually a draw.
Over to Lucas, he searches the crowd for his partner.
"Sora and Dawn found their partners," Lucas said.
"Of course, you had to be number 15," a voice said coldly. Lucas turned around and sees that it's Paul.
"You?!" Lucas exclaimed.
Both were disappointed to be with one another. Paul was sour about the Gym Leader taking off before he shows up, but he also just as sour when Sora has come as well.
"Of course, I have no choice," Paul said. He points his finger right at Lucas. "You just make sure you don't get in my way!"
"Hey! That's no way to talk to your Tag Battle partner!" Lucas snarled. "Why couldn't I have been tagged with Sora ? At least he's a Trainer I actually look up to."
"In a tag battle, the real key to success is to create the spirit of partnership between both trainers and their Pokémon! To learn truly rely on each other! And so, to the team that emerges victorious, we will be awarding sn item that's sure to deepen the connection between you even more!" Enta said, digging through his pockets. He pulls out a pair of bells. "Our grand prize! The beautiful Soothe Bell! A bell that produces a sound so magnifenticently beautiful, that it brings both peace and joy to everyone who hears it! And this bell will be the award to our fine Tag Battle winners!" Everyone was soothed to the sound of the bell.
"What an awesome prize," Lyra said.
"Marill," Marill said.
"Alright, Trainers! By now, you've all found your Tag Battle partners! As you all know, the battle festivities don't commence until this afternoon. So have until then to practice with your partner!" Enta said.
"That's fine with us," Sora said. Riku nodded in agreement.
"Dawn, you know you're lucky to have been matched with me," Conway said. He adjusted his glasses.
"Huh?" Dawn asked, confused.
"You see, after careful analysis of every league battle up to, and including, the present, I've caculated the proper formula for ensuring that victory is ours," Conway said. He chuckles. Dawn wasn't sure she should trust him, but it looks like she has little choice in the matter.
"Uh, that's great, Conway," Dawn said.
Later, the first battle is about to begin. It was the very first battle. Dawn and Conway were having a battle with a girl and a bulky man.
"Alright! It's time for our first match! And here the rules! Each trainer is allowed to use one Pokémon, with no time limit! There will be no substitutions. Whichever team ends up unable to battle is defeated! Then tomorrow, the winners advance to the second round battles!"Enta instructed."Now today, our first battle will be A Block! So, it's off to the Pokémon battlefield!"Dawn and Conway each took out a Pokéball and threw it.
"Now, Piplup! Spotlight!" Dawn called out as she lets out her partner.
Okay, Slowking. Appear!" Conway called out as his Slowking makes its entrance.
"Scyther! Go!" The girl called out.
"Koffing! Let's thrash 'em!" The man called out. A Scyther and Koffing make their appearence. The girl's Scyther has a bigger abdomen than the Scyther Sora had before evolving.
"Now, you go right ahead with your attacks and don't worry about one bit about defense! You just leave that to me and don't think too much, okay?" Conway instructed.
"Yeah, right," Dawn deadpanned.
"All right, battle begin!" Enta called out.
"Now, Scyther! use Razor Wind!" The girl ordered.
"Piplup! Use Bubble Beam!" Dawn ordered. Piplup fires Bubble and it cancels out Razor Wind. Sludge Bomb was still coming for the two of them.
"Now, Slowking, let's use Safeguard!" Conway ordered. Slowking uses Safegurad around the two of them and Sludge Bomb bounces right off. Piplup was surprised that not one of them got hit The penguin looked right up at his battling partner who responded with a thunbs up.
"Impressive. Conway knows what's he doing obvisously," Yugi said.
"He's an intersting character, I'll give him that," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu agreed.
"Now! Koffing! Thunderbolt!" The man ordered. Koffing unleashes Thunderbolt right at the two Water-types.
"Piplup! Dodge it!" Dawn called out.
"Now, Slowking! Protect!" Conway ordered. Slowking forms a protective barrier around the two of them and Thunderbolt bounces off. Dawn stared at the battlefield with amazement. "There, you see? You can now do whatever you want. 'Cause I'll be covering for you, no matter what."
"Got it!" Dawn said.
"Scyther! X-Scissor! Let's go!" The girl ordered. Scyther moves in with her arms crossed.
"Piplup! Peck!" Dawn ordered. Piplup jumps on Slowking's crown and then off. Piplup heads right for the mantis Pokémon with his beak pointing at her. Piplup lands a hit onto Scyther and cancels out X-Scissor. Scyther had been taken down with a super-effective hit.
"Scyther is unable to battle!" The referee announced. The girl was distraught over her Pokémon's defeat.
"Now! Koffing, Gyro Ball!" The man ordered. Koffing spins around into Gyro Ball and heads right towards its opponents. Conway chuckles to himself as he adjusts his glasses.
"Slowking, Psychic! Go!" Conway ordered. Slowking stops Koffing in its tracks with Psychic. "Now." Slowking points down and Koffing comes right down, earning a knockout. Both of Koffing and Scyther were down and out.
"Koffing is unable to battle! Piplup and Slowking wins! The winners of the first round is Dawn and Conway!" The referee announced.
"And the exciting first battle of A Block has been decided!" Enta announced.
"So, Dawn, how was it?" Conway asked. Dawn was inspired as she had regained the fire she lost.
"Awesome! Our attack and defense moves were perfect!" Dawn said.
"Huh?" Conway questioned.
"Now, I want you to tell me all about this battle formula of yours! I'm sure they'll help me in my Contests!" Dawn said with sparkles in her eyes.
"You're a Coordinator?" Conway asked, when he heard her mention Contests.
"That Conway's very big on defensive moves," Lea said.
"Yeah. Dawn lucked out by being paired with him," Roxas said.
"Chu," Xipak said.
"Now, it is time for the battle in the D Block!" Enta announced as Sora and Yugi came up against two Trainers, on being a teenaged girl with long brownish blonde hair with an antenna on top with a tanned skinned girl with a long ponytail. Both the girls as well as Sora and Yugi both took out a Pokéball and threw them.
"Go! Hitmonchan!" The long haired girl called out.
"Go! Marowak!" The tanned skinned girl called out, letting out an Alolan Marowak.
"Go right in, Chimchar!" Sora called out.
"Go! Aerodactyl!" Yugi called out.
Both Chimchar and Aerodactyl emerged from inside.
"Let the battle begin!" Enta called out.
"Hitmonchan! Mach Punch on Aerodactyl!" The brownish blonde girl ordered. Hitmonchan darts towards the Fossil Pokémon.
"Aerodactyl! Dragon Claw!" Yugi ordered. Aerodactyl slashed at Hitmonchan with a Dragon Claw.
"What?! Mach Punch failed?!" The long haired girl exclaimed in anger.
"Marowak! Bone Rush towards Chimchar!" The tanned skinned girl ordered. Marowak charges towards Chimchar with its bone ready to strike.
"Chimchar! Dodge and use Flame Wheel!" Sora called out. Chimchar avoided Bone Rush and rolls into ball of fire. Chimchar lands a hit onto Marowak.
"Hitmonchan! Mach Punch again! This time on Chimchar!" The long haired girl ordered. Hitmonchan heads right towards Chimchar to land a punch.
"Aerodatyl! Use Aerial Ace!" Yugi ordered. Aerodactyl flew right at Hitmonchan, hitting him on the mark and protecting Chimchar.
"Thanks, Yugi," Sora said.
"Anytime, Sora," Yugi said.
"Marowak! Shadow Bone on that Aerodactyl!" The tanned skinned girl ordered. Marowak moved in to deliever a Shadow Bone onto Aerodactyl.
"Chimchar! Flamethrower!" Sora ordered. Chimchar fires Flamethrower and struck Maroawk hard. "Now, use Scratch on Hitmonchan!"
"Aerodactyl! Wing Attack on Marowak!" Yugi ordered. Aerodactyl flew and lands a hit onto Marowak. Chimchar lands a Scratch onto Hitmonchan.
"Let's wrap this up, Yugi!" Sora said.
"You've said it," Yugi agreed. "Aerodactyl! Use Aerial Ace!"
"Chimchar! Flame Wheel!" Sora ordered.
Chimchar rolled into a ball of fire as Aerodactyl dashed on forward.
"Hitmonchan! Dynamic Punch!" The long-haired girl ordered.
"Marowak! Flamethrower!" The tanned skinned ordered. Marowak lets out a stream of green flames as Hitmonchan heads right towards Aerodactyl.
Chimchar had struck Hitmonchan as Marwoak's Flamethrower was cut through by Aerodactyl and lands a hit onto Marowak. Both had ended up in double knockout.
"Hitmonchan and Marowak are both unable to battle! Chimchar and Aerodactyl wins! The tag battle goes to Sora and Yugi!" The referee announced. The crowd cheered as Sora and Yugi have won their first battle as a team.
"That was some great battling, Sora. The way you handled your Chimchar is very impressive," Yugi said.
"Thanks, Yugi. Your Aerodactyl is just as awesome," Sora said.
There were some other battles that came and went, narrowing it down to Lucas and Paul.
"And now for the last battle until tomorrow! Our battle in the H Block! Choose your Pokémon and come out battling!" Enta instructed. Lucas and Paul's opponents each took out a Pokéball and threw it.
"Go! Rhydon!" The man with the gunglasses called out.
"Magmar! Come on out!" The blonde haired man called out as Rhydon and Magmar came out to battle. Lucas took out a Pokéball and threw it.
"You're going right in, Monferno!" Lucas called out.
"Now, let the exciting battle begin!" Enta called out.
"Monferno! Mach Punch on Rhydon!" Lucas ordered. Monferno heads right towards Rhydon with Mach Punch.
"Nidoking! Drill Spin on Magmar!" Paul ran towards Magmar with his horn spinning like a drill.
"Magmar! Protect!" The blonde haired man ordered.
"Rhydon! Megahorn!" The man in the sunglasses ordered. Rhydon heads right towards Monferno with its horn giving off a green glow and extending.
"Monferno! Dodge and use Power-Up Punch!" Lucas ordered. Monferno avoids Rhyhorn's Megahorn and lands a hit.
"Well, Monferno's a fifty-fifty gamble. Monferno is vulnerable to any Ground-type moves it may know, but at the same time, Monferno's Fighting-type moves should contribute, especially that Power-Up Punch it knows," Conway said.
"Granted it builds up Monferno's attack power from each hit," Sora said.
"Now, use Fire Punch!" The blonde haired man ordered. Magmar lands a buring punch onto Nidoking. "Okay, how about we wrap this up in one hit?"
"Okay!" The man in the sunglasses seconded it.
"Magmar! Protect!" The man with the blonde hair ordered.
"Rhydon! Surf!" The man in the sunglasses ordered. Magmar formed a protective barrier as Rhydon rode on with Surf.
"Earth Power!" Paul ordered.
"No way! That won't work!" Lucas stated. He began thinking for a moment. "What would Sora do in a situation like this?" He looked right at Rhydon surfing and he gets an idea. "Maybe something like this. Monferno Use Jump straight up and use Mach Punch!" Monferno jumps straight up into the air, shocking Rhydon. Monferno then comes down like a comet and his fist has made contact with Rhydon right into the face, resulting in a knockout.
"Rhydon is unable to battle!" The referee announced.
"No way!" The opposing Trainers both exclaimed.
"Nidoking! Thunderbolt!" Paul ordered. Nidoking lands a powerful Thunderbolt onto Magmar and has earned a knockout.
"Magmar is also unable to battle! Monferno and Nidoking wins! The winners are Lucas and Paul!" The referee announced.
"That was aclose shave," Lucas said.
"I told you to stay out of my way!" Paul hissed.
"Hey, the purpose is for us to work together!" Lucas stated.
"Who asked you?" Paul snapped. Lucas sighed to himself.
After the first round, Sora and Lucas got together to cool off from the day they've been having.
"Sorry you had to get paired with that guy, Lucas," Sora said.
"Hey, don't worry about it. It would have been more fun if I got paired with either you or Dawn," Lucas said.
"Yeah, but you can't change your partners since it's against the rules," Sora said.
"Yeah, and that sucks. But at least your partner is an awesome Trainer," Lucas said.
"Well, what can ya expect?" A familiar voice spoke. They turned to see Yugi along with Téa, Joey, Tristan, Mai, Bakura, Duke, and Serenity with him.
"I had a feeling that the gang was all here," Sora said.
"You kidding, Sora? We'd stick with Yug like glue," Joey said.
"Uh, who are they?" Lucas asked.
"Right, you haven't met. This is Yugi Muto, my partner for the tournament. And these are his friends. Guys, meet Lucas," Sora introduced.
"The name's Joey Wheeler," Joey introduced.
"My name's Téa Gardner," Téa introduced herself.
"I'm Tristan Taylor," Tristan introduced himself.
I'm Duke Devlin," Duke introduced.
"My name's Serenity Wheeler. Joey's my big brother," Serenity said.
"My name's Mai Valentine," Mai introduced.
"My name's Bakura," Bakura introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you," Lucas said.
"Likewise, Lucas," Yugi said.
"How do you know each other?" Lucas asked.
"We met each other when Kairi and I were traveling in Kanto in our first journey together. We came across a Team Rocket plot in stealing Pokémon from other Trainers in Domino City and an attempt to frame Seto Kaiba for Team Rocket's crimes. They would have succeeded if our photographer friend Todd hadn't taken some pictures to prove his innocence before they could do it," Sora explained.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"So, when did you get here in Sinnoh?" Sora asked.
"Sometime ago at the same time as Tai and the other DigiDestined. We figured that you Keyblade wielders would be going to Sinnoh to find other Key-slingers," Joey said.
"We also had a run-in with Ben and his students," Téa said.
"Ot has been a while since we've seen Ben," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
Sora gathered the other Keyblade-wielding Pokémon Trainers and filled Yugi and the others in about their past experiences, and introduced Dawn to them. They didn't take too long to warm up to Dawn and her Piplup. Serenity found Piplup to be very cute.
"That explains why Riku isn't here," Tristan said.
"Master Rei did send Riku to do his own special training and he probably won't be back until he gets it done," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"But we do hope he has full control over his darkness," Kairi said.
"I'm starting to think so, too. It could be mean trouble if this Count Ernesh was responsible for it," Yugi said.
"I'd rather not think too much about it since we should go over our plans for the tournament," Sora said.
"Yeah, you're right, Sora. We should," Yugi said.
Meanwhile, Paul is doing his own training, doing his own thing. He couldn't care less about teamwork. What was on his mind right now was beating Sora right in front of everyone with so much determination.
"The entire world will see Sora for the false Champion that he is. I'll make sure of it.
The first part of the Tag Battle Tournament has taken its first start, but how well will the rest of the tournament go at this point? Will Paul be able to triumph over Sora and win the battle that is to come? Find out as we continue with the adentures that are to come.